Inspired by the burgeoning UK punk scene, Wire are often cited as one of the more important rock groups of the 1970s and 1980s. Critic Stewart Mason writes, "Over their brilliant first three albums, Wire expanded the sonic boundaries of not just punk, but rock music in general."[2]

Wire are arguably a definitive art punk or post-punk ensemble, mostly due to their richly detailed and atmospheric sound, often obscure lyrical themes and, to a lesser extent, their Situationist political stance. The group exhibited a steady development from an early raucous punk style (1977's Pink Flag) to a more complex, structured sound involving increased use of guitar effects and synthesizers (1978's Chairs Missing and 1979's 154). The band gained a reputation for experimenting with song arrangements throughout its career.[citation needed]

Contents

History

Wire's debut album, Pink Flag (1977), contains songs which are diverse in mood and style, but most use a minimalist punk approach, unorthodox structures,[citation needed] and several songs are under a minute in length; "Field Day For The Sundays", for example, is only 28 seconds long.

Chairs Missing followed in 1978, and found Wire stepping back from the stark minimalism of Pink Flag, with longer, more atmospheric songs and synthesizer parts added by producer Mike Thorne.[citation needed] The experimentation was even more prominent on 154 (1979).[1] Many of the songs had bassist Graham Lewis on lead vocals.